The night of March 25, 1971, etched in history as the Black Night, remains a scar on Bangladesh’s collective memory. On this night, the Pakistan military launched “Operation Searchlight,” a brutal crackdown on unarmed Bangalees that marked the beginning of one of the darkest nights in the nation’s history.

On the fateful night of March 25, 1971, the Pakistani army officially launched its campaign of genocide in erstwhile East Pakistan, by unleashing death squads that mercilessly killed 7,000 unarmed, innocent Bengalis in one single night.

The nation today recalls the Black Night of March 25.